It’s time the state gets serious about enforcing clean water regulations.

Enforcement is lax, and the entire state suffers.

According to a report from the Environment Maine Research and Policy Center and records from the Department of Environmental Protection, 83 percent of the state’s mills, factories and municipal sewage treatment facilities have illegally polluted lakes, ponds, streams and rivers during the past three years.

That’s 68 of 82 major facilities – which discharge more than a million gallons a day each – have violated their Clean Water Act permits since 2001.

Of those, only four have paid any sort of fine even though three-quarters of them were repeat offenders. In 2002 alone, 15 plants had significant problems, which allowed pollutants and toxins to escape into waterways.

DEP has a history of working with polluters to bring them into compliance. That’s a good thing. But the agency is too slow to hold repeat offenders accountable.

Maine’s economy and health depend on maintaining – and in too many cases, restoring – our rivers and lakes. We must take the threats to our important natural resources seriously.

Environment Maine recommends stiff penalties for polluters and a zero-tolerance policy toward violations. The group’s goal is to eliminate the financial benefits of breaking the law.

Better enforcement and significant fines can have a positive effect. In New Jersey, for example, mandatory minimum fines have reduced illegal discharges by 87 percent. And the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in a February 2003 analysis, found a link between a state’s level of enforcement and compliance.

If polluters are held accountable, they can clean up their acts. We’re not talking about new laws and regulations here. We’re talking about enforcing the laws already on the books.

DEP has limited staff and faces the same budget constraints as every other part of state government. Unlike similar agencies in other states, DEP does not have the authority to fine polluters administratively. Instead, the agency is forced to send complaints to the attorney general.

Nonetheless, DEP, with the state’s help, needs to take off the gloves. The agency needs the power to punish violators of the Clean Water Act and the financial resources to monitor water quality and enforce the law.

Tough enforcement can cut the amount of illegal pollution dumped into Maine’s waterways, making them cleaner and safer. It’s time to get busy.


Loud and clear


Two businesses are facing the wrath of the state after being accused of violating new no-smoking laws.

We do not know if Caswell House, a restaurant in Harrison, or McGillicuddy’s, a bar in Brunswick, actually allowed smoking inside or not. They are presumed innocent of the charges until proven guilty.

But the two face major fines after an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office.

The state is sending a message – one bars and restaurants need to hear. Smoking is now illegal in almost every place where people work. The law will not be enforced with a wink and a nod, and the punishment for violations can be costly. The law is serious.

That’s the right message to send. It’s time for it to be received loud and clear.


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